Partnership Revenue Calculator

Calculate the Revenue Potential of Your MSP Referral Program

Model different scenarios to understand how many referral partners you need, expected recurring revenue, commission costs, and ROI compared to direct sales.

Your Inputs

1100
0.510
$500$50,000
10%50%
6 mo60 mo
$500$10,000
1 mo12 mo

💡 How to Use This Calculator

  • • Adjust the sliders to match your business model
  • • See real-time revenue projections and ROI calculations
  • • Compare referral channel costs vs. direct sales costs
  • • Export your results for team discussions
  • • Model different growth scenarios

Annual Revenue (Year 1)

$0

CAC Savings vs Direct

$0

ROI

0.0%

Payback Period

0.0 mo

Revenue Breakdown

Monthly Referral Revenue$0
Total Referrals per Month20
Monthly Commission Costs-$0
Net Monthly Revenue$0

Annual Projections:

Year 1 Revenue:$0
Year 2 Revenue (+20%):$0
Year 3 Revenue (+44%):$0

Cost Comparison: Referral Partners vs. Direct Sales

Direct Sales CAC (Annual)

$0

Cost if you sold all deals directly

Referral Commissions (Annual)

$0

Total commission payments to referral partners

Annual Savings

$0

CAC savings by using referral partners instead of direct sales

Return on Investment

0.0%

ROI on your referral program investment

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📊 Industry Benchmarks

  • • Active referral partner sends 1-3 referrals/month
  • • Typical commission: 5-15% of MRR (or one-time finder fee)
  • • Top partners generate 30-50% of total revenue
  • • Time to productivity: 2-6 months
  • • Referral CAC: 40-60% lower than direct

💡 Optimization Tips

  • • Start with 5-10 quality referral partners, not 50 mediocre ones
  • • Focus on partners who serve your ideal clients (vCIOs, COIs, peer MSPs)
  • • Offer tiered commissions to reward top performers
  • • Provide excellent onboarding and enablement
  • • Track partner health and give/get balance monthly

Frequently Asked Questions

How accurate are these projections?

These are estimates based on industry benchmarks. Actual results vary based on your product, market, partner quality, and enablement efforts. Use this as a planning tool, not a guarantee.

What commission rate should I offer?

MSP referral commissions are commonly 5-15% of MRR for the life of the contract, or a one-time finder fee. Consider your margins, the recurring contract value, and how involved the partner is in the sale.

How many partners do I need to start?

Start with 3-5 quality referral partners to validate your program before scaling. Focus on partners with existing client relationships in your target market.

How long until partners become productive?

Typical time-to-first-referral is 2-6 months depending on service complexity and partner experience. Strong onboarding and enablement can reduce this to 30-90 days.